Computed tomography (CT) imaging of freely suspended particles, including live single cells and cell clusters, is made possible by recent developments in low-light level imaging and other detectors, microelectronics, microfluidics, and high-speed computing. To perform three-dimensional (3D) imaging, it is necessary to have the ability to hold microscopic particles precisely in free suspension and to slowly rotate them. One way particles can be manipulated is via the influence of electric fields in field cages (also known as electrocages). An array of microelectrodes rotates particles by application of dielectrophoretic forces. These electrodes are typically fabricated by semiconductor technology methods. This fabrication is on a micro scale and can be very tricky to accomplish. Aspects of this disclosure propose a fabrication method aimed at addressing shortcomings of conventional methods.
It has proven very difficult to rotate the particles at a rate slow enough to allow low light-level data acquisition. This invention also provides a method for producing and using a cell medium suitable for supporting cell life and cell function, while enabling rotation rate to be slowed to a speed commensurate with low light-level imaging.